ML20120A117

Letter to T. Lodge, Request for Extension of Public Comment Period on Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Convening of Additional Public Hearings at Multiple Sites (Holtec International Application for Consolidated Interim Storage Faci

ML20120A117
Person / Time
Site:	HI-STORE
Issue date:	05/01/2020
From:	Andrea Kock Division of Fuel Management
To:	Lodge T - No Known Affiliation
JRCuadrado NMSS/DFM/STL 415.0606
References
Download: ML20120A117 (3)

Text

May 1, 2020 Mr. Terry J. Lodge, Esq.

316 N. Michigan St., Ste. 520 Toledo, OH 43604-5627

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND CONVENING OF ADDITIONAL PUBLIC HEARINGS AT MULTIPLE SITES (HOLTEC INTERNATIONALS APPLICATION FOR CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STORAGE FACILITY LICENSE IN LEA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO, DOCKET NO. 72-1051)

Dear Mr. Lodge:

On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter dated March 25, 2020. In your letter, you requested that NRC indefinitely extend, for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, the public comment period on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Holtec Internationals proposed Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) in Lea County, New Mexico. You also requested that this public comment period be extended for an additional 199 days when the national emergency is terminated, and that NRC hold an additional 18 public hearings at various locations throughout the United States, in addition to any meetings that may be held in New Mexico.

The current 60-day comment period on the draft EIS was scheduled to close on May 22, 2020.

Given recent events associated with the COVID-19 public health emergency, and the corresponding actions taken by Federal and State governments to mitigate its spread, the NRC staff has extended the public comment period for an additional 60 days. A notice of this extension was published in the Federal Register on April 27, 2020 (85 FR 23382).

The NRC staff plans to hold a nationwide webinar and five public meetings in New Mexico during the public comment period to present the staffs preliminary findings and receive public comments. As the COVID-19 public health emergency evolves, the NRC staff will continue to re-evaluate these plans for engaging the public, and will consider whether additional extensions to the comment period are warranted.

Regarding your request for 18 additional meetings, the staff believes that a draft EIS public comment process, similar to the scoping process, will provide ample opportunity for members of the public to participate and submit comments. During its scoping process, NRC staff held five in-person public meetings in New Mexico and one public meeting with a conference line at NRC Headquarters in Maryland, as well as providing multiple options -including a public website, email address, and physical mail address- for members of the public to express their views and submit comments. During this process, NRC staff successfully received, reviewed, and considered over 6,600 public comments. We believe that providing the same opportunities and

T. Lodge 2 options for submitting comments will once again provide for a substantial and engaging public comment period. Therefore, the staff does not plan to conduct an additional 18 public meetings.

If you would like to discuss any of these matters, please contact John McKirgan, Chief of the Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, at (301) 415-5722, or Cinthya Román-Cuevas, Chief of the Environmental Review Materials Branch, at (301) 415-7093.

Sincerely, Andrea Digitally signed by Andrea L. Kock L. Kock Date: 2020.05.01 18:18:53 -04'00' Andrea L. Kock, Director Division of Fuel Management Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards Docket No.: 72-1051 cc: Email Distribution List

T. Lodge 3

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND CONVENING OF ADDITIONAL PUBLIC HEARINGS AT MULTIPLE SITES (HOLTEC INTERNATIONALS APPLICATION FOR CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STORAGE FACILITY LICENSE IN LEA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO, DOCKET NO. 72-1051)

DATED: May 1, 2020 DISTRIBUTION: Ticket Number: LTR-20-0113-1DFM JLubinski, NMSS RLewis, NMSS CRegan, NMSS JTappert, NMSS DMcIntyre, OPA AMoreno, OCA DMarcano, NMSS KMorgan-Butler, OEDO JStorch, OEDO DFM r/f ADAMS Accession Number: ML20120A117 *via email OFFICE NMSS/DFM NMSS/REFS NMSS/DFM NMSS/REFS NMSS/DFM NAME JCuadrado JCaverly WWheatley CRoman JMcKirgan DATE 4/21/2020 4/23/2020 4/24/2020 4/21/2020 4/23/2020 OFFICE OGC NMSS/REFS NMSS/DFM NAME SKirkwood-NLO JTappert AKock DATE 4/24/2020 4/24/2020 05/01/2020 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY